Mystery Meat: 7 Scary Ingredients Lurking in Your Fast Food

Did you know eating fast food just twice a week can make you gain 10 pounds and double your risk for insulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes, obesity, and a host of other health issues? Needless to say, I don't think anyone would be shocked to learn that fast food isn't the healthiest dining option out there, but it may not be for the reasons you think. Often referred to as "Franken-food," fast food is typically composed of a variety of absolutely terrifying ingredients you would never consider putting in your body if they weren't disguised so beautifully as a delicious burger or French fry, and presented in fun, colorful packaging and buried in catchy marketing messages. Take for example McDonald's menu description: "Our tender, juicy, Chicken McNuggets are made with USDA-inspected white meat. They're tempura battered and cooked to golden perfection." Doesn't sound half-bad, right? Until you look past that flaky exterior and further into the ingredient list. According to Dr. Mercola, "Only 50 percent of a McNugget is actually chicken. The other half includes corn derivatives, sugars, leavening agents, and completely synthetic ingredients." If that's not bad enough, a recent Annals of Diagnostic Pathologystudy revealed that number may be as little as 2% - as in only 2% of your meat is actually meat. Yikes. So what scary things are making up that other 50 to 98% that's not meat? Click through to find out what ingredients are lurking in your fast food. - By Heather Neal